Matt LaFleur has to be part of the solution for the Packers' recent red zone woes

The Green Bay offense has been hyper-efficient this season, but the Packers lost to the Bears in Chicago in Week 16 because of red zone struggles. What gives?

“Don’t be the problem.”

Those were the words Mark Murphy’s reportedly told Aaron Rodgers when the Green Bay Packers hired Matt LaFleur back in 2019. Maybe Ed Policy can relay the same message to LaFleur ahead of the 2026 playoffs.

That’s not to say LaFleur has been the problem this season, though plenty of fans in Cheesehead Nation would say that. But this offense has had virtuosic efficiency in the Jordan Love era. In the playoffs, that efficiency has faltered, much like the offense in the red zone this season.

The Packers rank 11th in points and 14th in touchdowns per red zone trip. They’ve been so good in metrics like EPA/play because they rarely turn the ball over and have been the second-best third down team in the NFL this season. Those are very valuable traits to have as an offense.

But this offense hasn’t been anywhere near as explosive a scoring offense as the efficiency suggests. I was shocked when Jason didn’t have “red zone scoring” in one of his three key questions yesterday, particularly when going 0-5 in the second meeting ultimately doomed the Packers.

And while the problems were myriad, LaFleur didn’t do his offense any favors. He can’t help his star running back fumbling inside the five, on first down no less. But particularly with Malik Willis at quarterback, the Bears loss showed an uninspiring performance from the playcalling head coach.